Star Fox: Decent into Madness
by MarkNicholsonV2
Summary: 5 years have past since the Angler Blitz, since Star Fox once more obtained victory over planet Venom, and since Fox had to say goodbye to his love, Krystal. Fear still dwells inside Fox of the next big threat on Lylat, and peace is something he has long lost. The time is coming, and Fox will have to collide with every fear that has ever flooded his mind and chilled his blood.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Five years. It had been five years since the Angler Blitz, where the Star Fox team had taken out the Angler forces and once again saved the galaxy. Great was the day that Lylat was finally at peace again and it's people could set their minds at ease, but for how long? This was the question that burned in Fox McCloud's mind ever since the end of the Lylat war. He would lay on his bed in his room on the Great Fox II, a large cargo ship now used as the Star Fox team's mother ship, contemplating this every night until he fell asleep. _How long?_ How long until the Lylat system would once again be attacked by an old or foreign enemy that would threaten it's people and it's existence? _How long?_ How long until an enemy appeared that Fox and his team could not handle? An enemy that would destroy the galaxy's protectors and finally gain the title of Lylat's conquerors. Fox was thankful for his victories, thankful that every time danger arose the Star Fox team was able to rise to the challenge and give the galaxy it's times of peace, but he couldn't shake the thought that it wouldn't stay that way. He knew his luck was running out. All he could do was keep trying, save Lylat whenever possible, and wait for the fateful day when he would fail. Fail the galaxy, fail the citizens that inhabited it, and worst of all, fail his team.

Since the death of his parents at the hands of Andross, Fox's team had taken the place of his family. He learned to rely on them when he needed strength and guidance. They helped him realize he was never alone. Without his team, Fox knew his failure would've come a long time ago. Time and time again they fought side by side and achieved victory over their adversaries, and once more with the recent defeat of the Angler army. Yet Fox couldn't help contemplating the question over and over as he lay on his bed, _how long... _

He rolled onto his side, trying to push the thought to the back of his mind. He transitioned to thinking about his team again. In the early years, Star Fox had consisted of Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, R.O.B., Falco Lombardi, and Fox himself. Peppy, a gray-brown humanoid rabbit with a white muzzle, was a skilled pilot and Fox's mentor. He was always there to give Fox advice whenever it was needed. Peppy soon became like a father to him, someone he could learn things from and trust to keep himself on the right track. Slippy, a short, fat, and green humanoid frog with a white lower jaw, was an inventor and mechanic. Fox could always rely on him to create something to use against their enemies in order to gain the upper hand, as well as repair any damages the Great Fox II might have sustained and keep up with any maintenance needed. R.O.B., a humanoid robot, was the Great Fox II's pilot and the team's mechanical buddy. He could control the ship, manage any computerized information on board, and utilize the vessel's defenses and fire power.

Then you had Falco, a lowlife gang leader that the Star Fox team decided to take in due to his incredible piloting skills. He was a tall, blue, humanoid falcon with red-orange feathers around his eyes. Falco never revealed why he agreed to step down as the leader of his gang and join Star Fox. When asked, "Eh, the money's better." was always his response. Fox never bought it, he could sense something else had been the cause. Eventually the real reason was discovered during a run in with Falco's old gang not long after the Lylat wars. Turned out he had been tired of constantly rescuing one of his team members. _The lazy bird, _Fox had thought to himself. It didn't matter though, Falco turned out to be a very skilled wing man, he knew just about every trick in the book. He even outdid Fox on a few occasions, which led to a friendly rivalry between the two pilots.

Fox himself was a orange-brown humanoid fox with a pointed white highlight running between his ears, a large white patch starting at his lower jaw and ending at his waist, and a white tipped tail.

These were the members that made up the Star Fox team as well as the known heroes they had become. Throughout the years they had gained and lost additional team members, the most memorable being the lovely Krystal. Fox's heart filled with pain and sorrow at the thought of her. He first met her on planet Sauria, also known as Dinosaur Planet, during the Saurian crises. In an attempt to save Sauria, she fell into a trap created by Andross. When the Star Fox team arrived to also assist the planet, Fox sensed her telepathic cries for help and rescued her. He would never forget the first moment he laid eyes on her, she was the most beautiful humanoid fox he had ever seen! Her soft, groomed royal blue fur and pure white face, along with her vibrant Sapphire blue eyes was a breathtaking sight. She had decided to join up with Star Fox after her rescue from Sauria and had stayed with them for years. She was very useful to the team; her telepathic abilities allowed her to get a better picture of what dangers they would be up against before they went head on with them, she could figure out weaknesses in any enemy they faced, and she could sense nearby distress calls that were unable to reach the team by radio, as well as send out her own.

Along with her continuous assistance, Fox eventually found himself in love with her. She was beautiful, she was adventurous, she was kind and gentle, she was everything he could ever dream of. _But you let her slip through your fingers, didn't you Fox?! _He had wanted to tell her how he felt, but was always too timid to say anything. It was easy enough to fight along side her during a mission, but as soon as the topic of the two of them being in a relationship came up, fear and humiliation would take over and he'd deny his feelings every time. He thought of when she and him had returned to Sauria to take out a group of Aparoids that had invaded the planet during the Aparoid invasion. Once the battle was over, he had run into his old friend Tricky, a young triceratops that lived on the planet. After some small talk and catching up, Tricky proceeded to tease Fox about how Krystal and him should return to Sauria for their honeymoon. Fox immediately turned red from embarrassment and proceeded to silence Tricky, telling him this conversation wasn't for children. _Why?! _Fox scolded himself, _Why did you react like that?! Why can't you tell her three simple words?! You've selflessly put your life on the line countless times, yet you're to much of a coward to say THREE SIMPLE WORDS!" _It wasn't only cowardice that made Fox curse himself. After a battle during the Aparoid Invasion where Krystal almost lost her life to an enemy, Fox made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life. He kicked her off the team.

He had only meant to protect her, he didn't want to see her die from the dangers of their line of work. He recalled the night he removed her, and all the pain that came with it. They were all at a bar on planet Corneria, the center of culture and government of the Lylat system, having a few a drinks and a relaxing evening. Out of all the challenges Fox had faced during his career as a pilot, asking Krystal to step out side so he could deliver the news to her was the hardest thing he had ever done. He cringed as he remembered her reaction, how she had fallen to the ground in tears. He saw the fear in her eyes, the fear of loss. Her planet, and all of her people that inhabited it, had been destroyed decades ago. The Star Fox team was all that she had, and he had taken it away from her. Then as he had turned to walk away, he heard her scream three words. Three words that he was too much of a coward to say himself, and three words that almost sent him to his knees. "I LOVE YOU!"

Fox had stopped dead in his tracks. He had wanted to turn around and tell her she could stay, tell her that he was sorry and that he loved her as well, but the thought of seeing the day that she got struck down by one of their enemies was too much for him to bare. He couldn't let her stay, he wouldn't. He would rather have her out of harms way than by fighting his side. However during the Angler Blitz, he learned that his attempt to keep her safe had all been for nothing.

A few days after she had been left behind on Corneria, another group of pilots made her an offer to join their team, Star Wolf. Star Wolf was a dangerous group of mercenaries that were willing to take on any job, legitimate or criminal, as long as the pay was worth it. They were made up of three pilots: Wolf O'Donnell, a gray humanoid wolf with a similar fur pattern to Fox. Leon Powalski, a green humanoid chameleon, and Panther Caroso, a humanoid panther with dark purple fur and piercing yellow eyes. Wolf was the leader of the team and Fox's main adversary next to Andross, Leon was Wolf's wing man and just about as talented as Falco, and Panther was the team's newest addition who joined sometime before the Aparoid invasion for reasons unknown to Star Fox.

Krystal accepted their offer and became a member of Star Wolf. Better yet, Panther had developed feelings for her just as fast as Fox had, although he wasn't afraid to admit them to her. So Krystal and Panther had developed a relationship that stung Fox as if a poison were flowing through his veins. Blood burning and heart throbbing, the urge to fall to his knees and release a loud cry of regret would nearly overtake him _every_ time he thought of the newly formed bond. _If only you had kept her with you, if only YOU had told her the truth! _In the end, all Fox had was his team and the ever burning question, _how long?_

A knock on the door woke Fox from his thoughts. "Come in." In stepped Lucy Hare, Peppy Hare's daughter who took his place on the Star Fox team after he had been promoted to General of Cornerian army. She was a slender humanoid rabbit with pink fur and eyes, along with a tall set of ears and a bright white set of buck teeth.

"We've received a transmission from my father, he needs to speak with you."

_Been awhile since we've heard from you Peppy, _Fox thought to himself. "I'll be right up."

"Please hurry, he sounded urgent." With that, she turned and left the room. Fox got to his feet and grabbed his white and gray jacket he always wore over his green flight suit, putting it on as he walked. He stepped out into the hallway and made his way towards the stairs leading to the bridge of the Great Fox II. The Great Fox II wasn't as nice as the first Great Fox, a battleship that was the team's original vessel lost during the Aparoid invasion, nor as roomy due to three quarters of the hull composing of two large hangers that had plenty of room for storing their aircraft and other cargo, but didn't work very well for living space. Fox had Slippy and R.O.B. turn a row of 6 extra cargo compartments in the back of the ship into bedrooms. Small and dim as they were, they were at least a suitable place to sleep.

Fox reached the top of the stairs and looked around the bridge. Control panels were lined up along the bottom of a large, three panel wide window that looked out over the front of the ship and into the vastness of space. A cylindrical holographic table sat in the center of the room. Gathered around the table was Falco, Slippy, R.O.B., Lucy, and Amanda Toad. Amanda joined the Star Fox team around the same time Lucy Hare had joined up, and had recently married Slippy Toad. Slippy had met her before the Angler Blitz, and she joined the team to stay right by his side. She was a pink humanoid frog that had the same figure as Lucy. Her eyes were royal blue and she wore a bright yellow ribbon on the top of her head.

On the table was a hologram of Peppy Hare, now known as General Hare, with a look of distress and annoyance on his face. "There you are Fox! You'd better watch yourself boy, soon enough you'll be moving slower than me!" Peppy said with a playful irritation in his voice.

Fox smiled. "Been awhile old man, life as a general still treating you fair?"

"No time for chit-chat Fox, I have a matter that demands attention and could really use your help!"

"Well here at at Star Fox we certainly love it when matters demand our attention." Fox replied with a smirk on his face. "Whats the situation?"

"The Cornerian forces sent out their usual weekly convoy to go circle around planet Venom to make sure no suspicious activity was taking place. Things had been quiet ever since we wiped it's surface clean of all lifeforms, but today the planet once again had a surprise in store for us. Five minutes ago the convoy was attacked as it came around to the far side of the planet from it's sun, Solar. The attack force was large and quickly overwhelmed them. We've dispatched reinforcements but I'm afraid that they won't make it in time. The convoy needs back up now!"

Falco interrupted, "Let me guess, your scanners show that we're close by and you want us to assist until further reinforcements show up?"

"Precisely!" Peppy Exclaimed. "You're less than five minutes from the planet, our forces won't arrive for another ten to fifteen. I've already sent you the the convoy's exact location. Please Fox, their lives are in jeopardy!"

"Already on our way general." Fox switched his attention to his team. "R.O.B., get this ship headed towards the convoy's coordinates and prepare it's defenses and firepower. Slippy, get down to the hangers and start getting all our fighters warmed up and combat ready. Everyone else, prepare yourselves for battle."

"I knew I could count on you Fox!"

"What are we going up against general?"

"That's the other strange part Fox, the attack force was composed Anglers and Aparoids."

_Anglers and Aparoids?! _Fox took a step back. "That's impossible. We wiped out the Aparoids during the Aparoid invasion, when we destroyed the Aparoid queen and blew up their home world eight years ago, and if there were any Anglars left on planet Venom, they would've been wiped out when the Cornerian army wiped Venom lifeless."

"I completely agree with you Fox, but we thought the same after you destroyed Andross for the second time. Look how he came back on planet Sauria. After that I'd say nothing is beyond impossible."

_Blast you Peppy, I hate it when your right. _Fox stood in thought for a moment. Excluding the Aparoid Invasion, every conflict that Lylat had been through had Venom at it's heart. Andross had always been Fox's greatest enemy and had become the blame for all the attacks, but even he took up refuge on Venom after being banished there for crimes against the Cornerian government. Andross was a large humanoid gorilla who originally took up a career as a scientist on Corneria. His intentions started out pure until his discoveries led him towards a lust for power. Eventually his motives became destructive as his research into bio-technology increased. He destroyed a large portion of the Cornerian city in the process. Thousands of lives were lost. As a result General Pepper, the previous general of the Cornerian army, exiled Andross to planet Venom where he was expected to die due to the planet's inability to sustain life, they were wrong. Venom didn't kill Andross, it did something else. It changed him, something about that planet poisoned his mind and seeped through his veins. It was as if an evil spirit had taken him over, increased his lust for power, twisted his intentions even further, and turned him into the monster that had nearly dominated the galaxy time and time again. There was something more to Venom than met the eye, and it worried Fox every time they went up against it or anything that was associated with it. Which led himself to ask again, would this be it? Were he and his team about to walk into a battle that would end them all? How far off was it now? _How long?_

"Fox!" Peppy's voice brought Fox back to reality. "We lost you for a moment there, are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine." Fox replied. He looked up at his team. "You guys ready for this?"

"This bird has been ready to get back in the air and into some action for a long time." Said Falco, twirling his laser pistol on his feathered finger as he headed toward the stairs. Amanda and Lucy followed suit.

Peppy called out to Lucy before she left. "Do be careful my dear, it scares me enough watching you fly out into the danger zone. I couldn't stand losing you to it..."

Lucy turned and acknowledged her father. "Don't worry daddy, this rabbits got speed. They won't even see her coming!" She said with an adventurous smile. She then turned and followed the rest of the team down the stairs.

"I'll watch over her too old man." Fox said comfortingly. "Anything else before I head to my Arwing?"

"There is one more little detail..."

Fox didn't like the hesitance in his voice. "And that would be?"

"I called in the Star Wolf team to help as well."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Fox froze. "Say again?"

Peppy's suspicion that this wouldn't be good news to Fox was confirmed by the look of horror on his face. "I said that I called in the in the Star Wolf team to assist you."

Fox put both his hands on his forehead and slowly dragged them down to the end of his snout. "Peppy, _please_ tell me this is a joke."

"I'm afraid not Fox, however I have picked up few good ones that are real knockout! I could tell you those if you'd like?

Fox 'placed' his hands on the holographic table a bit harder than he intended. His shock quickly turning to anger . "Peppy, _what _in _Lylat _were you thinking?!"

"Look Fox there really is no time to argue, that convoy..."

"That convoy is going to end up in even more danger! Have you forgotten that Star Fox and Star Wolf are not on the best of terms?!"

"Watch yourself boy. I know you have a history together, and yes maybe this wasn't my best decision, but I am still a general and you _will_ show the proper respect towards the rank."

Fox gritted his teeth, stepped back, and breathed a heavy sigh. Peppy was right, he owed him more respect than that. Peppy had always been good to him and had guided him through some of his most difficult struggles. Fox recomposed himself and began again, though irritation still hung in his voice. "My apologies general, but my opinion still stands. You realize that you just put two sworn enemies together in a room and told them to play nice, right? How did you even get them to agree to this?"

"One of the most powerful things in the universe."

_Money. _Fox thought, feeling stupid for asking that question.

"As for why I called them in, I will reiterate how large a number of fighters attacked our convey! I was afraid they would be too great for even you to handle, and I didn't want to put you or your team in any more danger than I had too. When I saw that Star Wolf was also in the area, I contacted them and paid a painfully large sum for Wolf and his team to help out. I informed them that you would be there as well, and that they were not to open fire on you. If they do, I will send the Cornerian reinforcements that's on its way after them as soon as this is all over."

Fox stood contemplating this. Peppy's reasoning made sense, and Fox was thankful for how the general was looking out for them. Although his threat to Star Wolf didn't sound very reassuring. Wolf O'Donnell and his team had evaded the Cornerian army many times, this would be no different.

"Now enough debate, you need to get out there! I fear it may already be too late..."

"We're on it." Fox looked over at R.O.B.. "How close are we?"

"WE ARE CLOSING IN ON THE LOCATION. ETA TWO MINUTES." R.O.B. answered. The intercom came on, Fox recognized Slippy's voice.

"Fox! I've got the Arwings up and ready to go. You coming or what?" Slippy sounded anxious and high pitched as usual.

"I'm on my way." He looked back at the hologram of General Hare. "See you after this is over, general."

"Good luck to you and your team Fox! I know I've told you this before, but I'm really proud of the great leader you've become. Your father would feel the same."

"Thanks Peppy. I'll contact you when the job's done." With that Fox terminated the transmission and headed towards the hanger. He paused at the top of the stairs and looked back at R.O.B.. "R.O.B., did you and Slippy ever finish the laser cannon I asked for?"

"MY READOUT SHOWS THE MULTI-SHOT LASER CANNON LOCATED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE FRONT END OF THE GREAT FOX II IS AT ONE-HUNDERED PERCENT OPERATIONAL CAPACITY."

"And the ships missiles are locked and loaded?"

"ALL SIX ARE ON STANDBYE."

Fox had forgotten that he also had Slippy and R.O.B. install three extra missile ports on the vessel. "Good. Once we're out and on our way to the location, get within firing distance of the battlefield. If this gets messy, we'll need you as back up." With that he turned back around and made his way down the stairs.

It took him less than thirty seconds to reach the hanger, where he found his whole team ready and waiting. Falco was the first to make a comment. "What took ya so long? You and Peppy havin a little love chat up there? We was about to leave without ya."

Fox smiled at the criticism as he climbed up into his Arwing. "Aw, you'd miss me too much. Besides, who's gonna cover your feathered tail if you leave me behind?" He playfully jabbed back. Fox could tell he hit home by Falco's reaction.

"Excuse me? I've saved your furry pelt twice as much!"

Amanda's voice came over all the team's headsets. "Boys, you're both pretty. Let's not forget we still need to work _together_?"

Slippy was the next to speak. "You tell em, my beautiful water lily!"

"You always knew how to back me up honey." Amanda responded with a little giggle in that beautiful southern accent of hers. Slippy preached endlessly about it being the reason he had first fallen in love with her!

"Every time I hear her speak my knees wobble and I just feel like flopping on the ground!" He would always say with a dreamy smile on his face. Their relationship had been amusing to Fox at first, but it wasn't long until he had to start ordering them to take their _lovey dovey _comments for each other to their room due to the fact that he couldn't stand it anymore. He knew that they were in that 'newly wed' stage and were only enjoying each others company and affections, but even Falco admitted that the stuff was giving him a headache.

"Shoot me if I _ever_ become _that_ infatuated with a female." Falco always said.

_ You and me both_, Fox always thought in return. Yet he knew that even though Slippy and Amanda's love for each other was ridiculous, it was strong and true; Fox envied that. It always led him to think about Krystal. _Why couldn't I have had that same dedication? Why did I have to let fear ruin my chances of a relationship with her. Slippy's the kind of guy who would jump at his own shadow, yet he got over the fear of his love, let alone his WIFE, fighting by his side. Why couldn't I?!_

"Just spare us the _pleasantry_ of you two's love fest and let's get this show on the road." Falco said as he conducted his final checks from his cockpit and started his fighter. He then lifted his aircraft off the floor, rotated towards the large opening in the hanger and flew through the blue force field that separated the air inside the Great Fox II from the atmosphere of space. Fox sealed his cockpit window and waited for the rest to fly off before following suit. He watched as Lucy lifted off the ground in her fighter and set off to join Falco out in the stars, her face radiating with excitement. Fox recalled his promise to Peppy to keep her safe, and Peppy's expressing his pride in Fox. Fox had forced a confident smile for both replies he gave to Peppy, but inside no such confidence existed. He knew he would give it his all to make sure that his whole team made it back in one piece, but he dreaded the day that wouldn't be enough. He envisioned Lucy in danger, three enemy fighters were in pursuit of her. Fox pushed his fighter to it's limits trying to get to her but not making it in time. She was shot down and her aircraft obliterated. Fox cringed himself out of the hallucination. Out of all his teammates, Fox felt most responsible for Lucy. Peppy trusted his daughter's judgment to serve on the Star Fox team, as well as Fox to safeguard and watch over her. If she perished under Fox's command, her blood would be on his hands. He would never be able to face her father again, let alone his own team; if _they_ even survived! _How long until it happens? How long until I finally fail, and lose everything that I love in this life? How long... _

_ "_Coming Fox?" Fox was once again woken from his thoughts by Slippy's Voice. He looked up to see that everyone else had flown out of the hanger. He quickly grabbed the controls of his Arwing and flew out to join them. He exited the Great Fox II and was surrounded by stars that lit up the dark vastness of space. He always took a moment to admire it. It was beautiful, a view he would never tire of. Fox scanned the area for his crew, spotting them a few miles up ahead, and the combat going on few miles ahead of them. Peppy was right, the attack force was not a small group of renegades on a suicide mission to kill a few Cornerians in revenge for what had been done to their planet. This was meant to overwhelm and exterminate the convoy. The whole scene looked far worse than an explosive light show that many planets put on for mere entertainment. Lasers flew in every direction, ships blew up left and right, and pieces of what had originally been some sort of spacecraft floated all over the battlefield. "No wonder Peppy had been so urgent." Fox muttered to himself, feeling guilty for being so argumentative with him back on the bridge.

He recognized Falco's voice coming through the headset. "You gonna join us up here cap?"

Fox realized he was still a good distance behind his team, and quickly put his thrusters to full capacity to catch up. _Wake up Fox!_ He thought sternly. _If you keep zoning out like this, you _are _going to wind up getting yourself and your team killed!_ He pushed all his worries out of his mind. He still looked upon the future with angst, but his team needed him. He would be sure to put everything he had into staying focused and completing the mission. _For Lylat, for it's citizens, for my family_.

Fox finally caught up with his team and took the lead. By now they had about twenty seconds until they would enter the chaos.

"Whats the plan Fox?" Lucy asked, her voice matched her facial expression that Fox had observed back in the hanger.

"We need to fight our way to the convoy's main battle cruiser, form a perimeter, and push outwards. That will give us some space to rally what's left of the Cornerian fighters, as well as the Star Wolf team." _If they'd be willing to cooperate. _Fox added to himself. When he heard his whole team simultaneously express their astonishment towards his mentioning of Star Wolf, he remembered that they weren't on the bridge when Peppy had passed that on.

"When were you planning to inform us of this little piece of information?!" Falco said, his voice portrayed a mix of shock and anger.

"No time, the battle's upon us!"

The whole team immediately fell silent and switched their focus to being combat ready as they sped right into the carnage. It was like stepping out of a dark and quiet room and straight into one bursting with light and chaos! The whole scene blinded them for a moment. Things seemed bad enough from a distance, now they just stepped in the doorway.

"Take evasive action!" Fox yelled into his headset as the whole team began dodging obstacles and firing at enemy fighters. Peppy's intel was correct. The attack consisted of both Aparoids and Anglers. The Aparoids were large, intelligent, organic mechanical beings that were designed after insects. The ones Fox mainly observed here were in the form of a moth. They were equipped with dual laser beams and missiles with lock on capabilities. The Anglers were humanoid fishes similar to the Angler fish species. They flew around in crayfish-shaped fighters that had varying capabilities, but mainly consisted of some sort of laser beam and missiles. _Cliche'_, Fox thought. His own fighter was the Arwing II. It looked like an average star fighter with its sleek triangular design, dual vertical stabilizers, and white and blue paint job. The Arwing II was equipped with a single laser beam that had single lock capabilities. The fighter also carried two smart bombs with lock on capabilities. Fox considered smart bombs to be Slippy's greatest creation. They had a blast radius large enough to take out an entire squadron of star fighters or make a good size hole in an asteroid belt. They could also detonate on impact or be set to a time frame.

Falco zoomed overhead chasing down a couple of Aparoids. He flew the Sky Claw. It's design was very similar to the Arwing II, minus that the wings were crafted to look like those of a large bird. The Sky Claw was equipped with a single laser beam that had multi-lock capabilities, making it easier for him to take down a group of fighters. His Arwing was also the fastest of the whole team's. Falco often bragged about the upgrades he had added to his ship by hole-in-the-wall mechanics he came across on different planets; all of them friends from his past life that owed him favors for dirty work he had done for them during his days as leader of his own gang. Slippy always fumed at why Falco had never just let him do the upgrades, being that he was fully capable. Falco always brushed him off with, "I've got my reasons, you've got bigger fish to fry anyway Slip'."

"Like what?!" Slippy asked.

"Like keepin the rest of the team up and runnin. You also gotta make sure this bucket of bolts stays in the air and doesn't fail us."

"Her name is the Great Fox II, and she's not a bucket of bolts! I got her at a good price, and with a little fixing up, she'll be just as good as the first Great Fox!"

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, calm down! Didn't mean to rile you up. Why do you care so much about upgrading my ship anyway?"

This always silenced Slippy. He never liked to admit it, but he hated the thought of other people out there that could do just as good, if not better at mechanics than he could. It always brought out a competitive side of him.

Naturally Slippy upgraded his own fighter, the Bullfrog. The body of his Arwing was much wider than the others, and it was equipped with a plasma cannon instead of a laser. The Bullfrog had no lock on capabilities, but it had the strongest shields and carried three smart bombs. Slippy would always get back at Falco with the fact that the Sky Claw had weaker shields and only one smart bomb.

"Shields are only to protect those who get shot, which this bird never does." Falco would boast with a haughty look on his face.

Fox chuckled every time. "Oh ya? Like the time I shot you down myself when you decided to go AWOL on the Star Fox team?"

Falco's face of pride would immediately turn to that of humiliation and anger. "I let you win that! I...I didn't want to hurt ya!"

"Uh huh." Fox would always reply with a smirk.

Fox swiftly rolled his fighter out of the way as an oncoming Angler fired it's lasers at him.

"Nice barrel role Fox!" He heard Lucy say over the comm link.

_Peppy would be proud. _Fox thought with a half smile on his face. Lucy was on his left, looking to head off the Aparoid Falco was chasing; he had already taken down the other.

Lucy's Sky Bunny looked nothing like an Arwing. She had picked it up herself when she first started flying. It had a circular body with fair sized wings and two vertical stabilizers. It was originally built as a civilian cruiser, but Slippy added a plasma cannon and a smart bomb that would at least get her by in basic combat, with plans to upgrade it further in the future. He had even given it a pink and white paint job at her request.

Lucy's Tadpole had been the same way. The name also fit the fighter, being that it's body was shaped and painted like a green Tadpole. The special thing about hers was due to it's design, it was able to operate under water; something Fox knew would be very useful in their future. They had already taken advantage of the ability on several occasions, doing side jobs in order to keep a sustainable income to cover food, fuel, repairs, and living expenses if they ever took up temporary refuge on a planet.

Fox slowed his Arwing's speed to help a Cornerian fighter that was being chased down by an Aparoid and... _is that a Venomian fighter?! _Fox intently looked the fighter over, _It is! _It was when he observed a humanoid lizard in the cockpit that he knew something was up. He hadn't seen any Venomians since the beginning of the Aparoid invasion, and even then he thought the last of them had been destroyed in a rebellion led by a nephew of Andross, Andrew Oikonny. _What in the universe would bring three completely separate armies of selfish motive to work together like this?Is this really just to get back at the Cornerians by taking down one simple convoy? Once the Cornerian cavalry gets here, their entire group will be wiped out! Their intentions couldn't be more than destroying this small Cornerian force. Unless... is there more? Is there a large unknown army about to come out of the blanket of fog that now en-wraps Venom? If so, who's leading them? Andross and Oikonny are dead, and Dash..._ Pain flooded Fox's heart. Dash Bowman had been a young pilot in the Cornerian army and Andross' grandson, though he never took after his grandfather's actions. He was a humanoid monkey of short height, brown fur, and a white head of hair. He got teased for being 'the cutest thing' by all the other pilots. Fox couldn't even help snickering at the comments. Dash was quite the adorable little ape, but few could match his piloting skills. He had assisted the Star Fox team during the Angler Blitz, but met his end two years ago with the annihilation of all life on Venom.

After the Angler Blitz, Venom had already been cleansed of most of it's dangers, such as the Anglers and the Venominians. Dash was convinced that if he could create a device that would cleanse Venom of its toxic atmosphere and waters, he could turn a place that had caused torment and death in Lylat for years, as well as housed his previous kin, into a peaceful home for Lylat's citizens. Fox was strongly against the idea, along with his team and several others; including ones that had diplomatic power in the system. Fox tried to convince Dash that no good was ever to come of Venom, and it was a planet that was best left alone. Fox told him of his belief, that the planet had played a part in the corruption Dash's Grandfather, and turned him into the monster that caused Lylat so much pain. How Andross had even been the cause of death for both Fox's parents. Dash wouldn't here of it, he didn't believe that a _planet_ could affect someones mind. He blamed Andross' actions completely on Andross himself. That his grandpa simply had an evil heart, and lived to cause chaos in the galaxy. Fox didn't hate Dash for his decision, but he warned him that he would have no part in it, and he was confident that his team wouldn't either (Which they didn't). Dash respected their decision, and set out to rally his own support for his campaign to turn Venom into a hospitable planet.

Within a few months, he had gained all the support and funds he needed to begin his restoration project. Fox was speechless from the amount of people who went along with this idea. _It's that easy to forget all the pain Venom has caused us?_ He felt it was a slap in the face to him and his team, and his parents... A tear ran down the side of his cheek. His father had died on that planet, at the hands of the very monster it created. The monster had also taken the life of his mother, as well as millions of other lives in the galaxy, and now millions were in agreement that Venom should become a place of happiness and harmony. Fox felt crushed, and even more so, angry. _After all I've done for this galaxy, for each and every one of them! The sacrifices I've made... sacrifices my team made. How dare they find joy in the very thing I've hated my entire life! _Eventually he even developed a hatred for Dash. It was on an evening when he was sitting alone on the bridge of the Great Fox II, watching a news feed on the holographic table. He had picked up the feed from a nearby satellite. It showed enormous crowds of people in support of Venom's cleansing, and Dash stood at the head of them all. The very sight of him ignited an anger inside Fox that he hadn't felt for a long time, he had stood up and slammed his fists into the table so hard it damaged it and terminated the feed. "You!" He had exclaimed, "You're the cause of this! How could you find such happiness in what only brings me pain! You know what that planet means to me! YOU KNOW THE SUFFERING IT'S CAUSED ME!" He had stood there for a moment in silence, furiously breathing, then broke down and dropped to his knees in tears.

Then came the day that Dash had finally done it. Through large engineering and construction teams, he had build large filters all over Venom and cleansed it's atmosphere and waters. He even industrialized large portions of the planet's surface so that people could start moving in immediately. The entire process had taken two years, but his dream had finally came true. Fox once again had stood by the holographic table watching the news feed, only this time the whole team was with him.

"Well, that's that." Falco had said as he shut off the feed. Fox just stood there in silence, his face showed sign of defeat. There was a time where he had spoken out against Dash, but he never gained enough support to stop the process. General Hare had even joined Fox in his efforts, taking the matter to his superiors inside the Cornerian government and tried to show military support in putting a halt to Dash's plans, but they wouldn't listen. They felt that this could be a benefit to the Cornerian army and would allow them to expand, recruit more soldiers and pilots, and increase their strength. Everyone believed that Venom wasn't the threat, it was the people who originally inhabited it. That Venom shouldn't remain a symbol of pain, but of rebirth. Fox just couldn't accept that.

Lucy walked over and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, "Fox, are you going to be okay?" Her soft and soothing voice sounded concerned.

Fox didn't respond. He simply turned and walked away, retreating to his room. He knew the planet was pure evil, and if he had his will he would have it destroyed. There was an evening where he had intended to do just that.

Fox had gotten so low one night that he flew out in his Arwing, unbeknownst to the team, and went to a nearby planet to drink his pain away. Though with every shot he consumed, the pain and anger just increased. He finally decided that if nobody was going to see the light and stop this madness, he would do it himself. He got up, left the bar, and flew back to the Great Fox II. By then everyone on the ship was asleep, even R.O.B. had gone into his sleep mode, so Fox had nothing stopping him from programing the vessel to head towards Venom. It was a two hour trip, and he sat in bridge ready and waiting the entire time. Finally, the Great Fox II arrived at it's destination. Fox got up and headed straight for his fighter, only to find Falco waiting for him.

"Care to tell me why we're taking a mysterious trip to venom at two forty-three in the morning?" Falco said as he leaned against the arwing's ladder, his wings crossed over his chest.

Fox was angry, drunk, and determined. He had no tolerance for Falco that night. "I'm not explaining myself to you Falco, step away from my arwing and this won't have to get ugly."

Falco raised his feathered eyebrows in aggressive amusement. "You should know by now that I have no problem with that." He said as he took his weight off the ladder. "But... I'm not going to stop you." Falco stepped away from the Arwing. "Go ahead. Fly off to Venom and do what you need to do. Just realize when you sober up, you're going to see how big of a mistake you've made tonight, and you're gonna wish I had stopped you."

Even through all his anger, Fox felt a little taken back. He had expected a brawl, for the whole team to come running out and find the two of them beating each other to bloody pulps. He slowly walked by Falco and climbed up into his fighter.

"I know how it feels Fox." Falco shouted after him as he turned on his Arwing. "To have everyone turn against you and make you feel like the lowest thing in the universe. But I'm telling you, this isn't the solution." With that he turned and walked back towards his room. Fox sat in the cockpit for a moment before taking off. He felt his anger rising inside of him again, only this time he was angry at himself. In his hatred he had become the very monster he had wanted dead his whole life, and even intended to cause the same destruction as the monster had. _What would my parents think? My father... _He looked down at his fighters ignition, and turned it off. He then slumped down in his cockpit seat and cried himself to sleep.

Venom continued to flourish for the next year, but disorder slowly began to arise. Crime started going up, murders became more frequent, it eventually got to the point where shootouts would happen in the middle of any street, anytime, anywhere. When no police or military force stepped up to control the chaos, the Cornerian government looked into the matter. It wasn't hard to get in contact with Dash, and they weren't met with pleasing news. Dash had informed them that Venom had become the leading power in the galaxy. It's population second to Corneria itself, and it's military was even greater than Corneria's. He thanked the Cornerian army for supplying most of Venom's strength and firepower. Unless demands were met to further increase the planet's military and resources, and officially place it above that of Corneria, Dash would unleash all hell on Lylat unlike anything ever seen before. The leaders representing Corneria's government laughed his threat off. They informed him all they had to do was tell his forces to cease following his orders, and his so called 'place in power' would completely diminish. Dash responded with a smile that chilled his audience to the bone. This ape was no longer cute, he had become the very symbol of evil that Andross had been all those years ago.

"Go ahead." Dash said, with a shocking calmness and confidence in his voice. "Give 'your' men the order. Tell them to stop following any and all commands I've given. I won't stop you."

The government leaders immediately contacted the Cornerian forces on planet Venom and told them to cease following Dash's orders; they were met with a terrifying response. Venom's army was now loyal to only Dash Bowman, and it was the Cornerian government that they would cease taking orders from. The soldier they spoke to had the same look in his eye that Dash had when they spoke to him. It was then that they realized the gravity of their situation; Venom's Cornerian military force was corrupt. All these years they had allowed a horror story to brew under their very noses, and now the entire universe was about to pay for it. They informed Dash of _their_ warning if he was to actually make good on his threat.

Back when the restoration of Venom had first begun, they might not have allowed the warnings given by their highly trusted Star Fox team to stop the process all together, but they had taken it into consideration. Immediately after the protests given by Fox McCloud, they began creating a threat response in case the absolute worst _was_ ever to go down on planet Venom. The response was made up of a nuclear arsenal powerful enough to wipe everything clean off the surface of the planet. If Dash didn't step down immediately, they would unleash the missiles on the planet, putting a complete stop to the threat instantaneously. Many were against such action and tried to find other solutions, but none would suffice. Venom's new army was larger than any other in Lylat's history. Dash had been running underground training sessions completely unnoticed by the Cornerian government, even recruiting any rouge Aparoids, Anglers, and Venominians he could rally. He had quickly built an unstoppable force that even the Star Fox team saw no way of handling, and each and every member in Venom's military showed complete loyalty to Dash. Fox thought it was finally over. Venom had risen high enough to finally take over Lylat, and there was nothing he could do about it. He just sat in the ship's bridge with the rest of his team, watching the news feeds and waiting for the end.

Instead of heeding Corneria's warning, Dash turned it on them. He gave them ten minutes to call off their threat response or he would unleash his army on the galaxy. The Cornerian government knew then that they had no choice. All of Venom had gone insane, they could find no one on the planet that would stand against this. Venom's army stood ready to destroy anything that stood in their way, and all the civilians on the planet had taken to crime, murder, and war amongst themselves. To save the galaxy, the billions of lives on Venom would have to be obliterated. Within eight minutes of Dash's second threat, Corneria fired its nuclear arsenal. The Star Fox team watched in silence as one by one the missiles hit the planet from all directions and fire engulfed it's surface. Venom burned for a month before it released a mist that put out the fires and covered it's surface, then all was quite.

"Well... that's that." Falco stated as he walked away from the final news report that would be given on Venom's state.

Fox remained standing by the holographic table for a few seconds longer. "Yeah," he whispered, feeling satisfaction knowing that Venom was finally finished, and a sadness knowing that billions of people had died in the process. One of them being an adorable little monkey that had originally helped them save the galaxy, but turned into a monster that almost destroyed it. "That's that."

"Fox!" Falco's voice brought Fox back to reality. "Watch your tail, you've got three Anglers behind you and they've got a lock!"

Fox reacted on instinct and pushed down on his controls, ducking just in time to avoid a group of plasma blasts that whizzed overhead. He then began to survey his surroundings and get a grip on what was happening. _Damn it Fox! _He scolded himself, _Stop letting yourself get distracted. You're already failing your team!_ Slippy's voice came over Fox's headset.

"I can see the Cornerian battle cruiser, we made it!"

Fox quickly took command, forgetting all about the Venomian fighter that had sent him diving into his thoughts. "Alright guys, start forming that perimeter and getting us some leg room! R.O.B., you read me?"

"YOUR VOICE IS COMING IN CLEAR. HOW MAY I BE OF ASSISTANCE?"

"I need you to use the Great Fox II's firepower to make sure that the path we've cleared behind us doesn't close back up, in case we need an escape route. Slippy, Lucy, help R.O.B. out by doing the same thing with your own fighters. Amanda, Falco, and I will clear that perimeter."

Right after he finished giving his order, a new voice came over the comm link."Quite the leader there, aren't you Fox? Gotta say I'm impressed, you really know how to take control of a situation after nearly being blown up." Fox recognized it instantly. He knew that menacing growl anywhere.

"Wolf."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"It's been quite awhile Fox. Five years wasn't it? Seems like a lot has happened since, with the restoration of Venom and all. Those were quite the protests against your little friend's schemes." Wolf said with a taunting chuckle.

"Couldn't just stand by and wait for fate to pick the victor." Fox replied as he frantically tried to spot Wolf and his team.

"Never play against fate Fox. I'm sure it wasn't your wish for both of us to end up on the same battlefield working together, over the very planet that's haunted you your whole life. Hell, it sure wasn't my decision either. Yet here we are."

Fox finally spotted Wolf and one of his crew, Leon, rounding up a group of Aparoids and Anglers, as well as a couple Venomian fighters no different than the one Fox had spotted earlier. _The Cornerian! _

He remembered about the Cornerian pilot that was being chased by a Venomian. Fox's eyes scanned the area around his Arwing and located the Cornerian just up ahead and too the left. The pilot had lost the Aparoid, but was still running from the Venomian. Fox sped up and fired multiple laser blasts right through the center of the hostile fighter then zoomed overhead the leftover scrap. He turned his arwing around and made eye contact with the Cornerian pilot, who gave Fox a thumbs up from his cockpit. Fox then tried to relocate Wolf and Leon's fighters. Wolf flew a 'v' shaped fighter called the Wolfen. It had thin, pointed, tapered-straight wings located towards the rear half of the aircraft. The Wolfen was equipped with a twin laser with multi-lock capabilities and one smart bomb. Leon flew the Rainbow Delta, a variation of the Wolfen. A fighter with swept-back wings and two horizontal stabilizers. It was equipped with a laser cannon that could shoot multiple charged blasts at a slow rate of fire and two smart bombs. All of Star Wolf's fighters had a red and gray coloration.

With no luck of spotting either fighters, Fox found someone else instead. Another Arwing whipped right over head of his; in that split second, time seemed to slow as he spotted the pilot. _Krystal..._

She hadn't noticed him, her eyes were locked on her target. She was headed straight for the Convoy's main battle ship that had attracted a swarm of the Aparoid moths that landed on the cruiser and began ripping into it with their legs and blasters. Krystal slowed her speed as she began picking the mechanical insects off the Cornerian cruiser with her laser cannon. _Magnificent aim!_ Fox thought to himself. Within seconds she had destroyed every Aparoid without the cruiser taking a single shot. _She's gotten better..._

Fox heard Wolf's voice again. "Better duck Fox, gotta stampede coming your way." Fox turned his attention from Krystal back to the matter at hand to see the group of fighters Wolf and Leon had been rounding up heading straight for him! Fox pulled up on his controls and bolted straight up, getting out of the way just in time. He continued flying vertically until he was more than a thousand feet above the group, then he flipped around and dove straight towards them.

"You're turn to get out of the way, Wolf." Fox said as he locked onto an Aparoid in the center of the herd. He waited only a moment while Wolf and Leon backed off, then launched a smart bomb and retreated to a safe distance just before it went off, decimating the whole squad.

"That works, though I was enjoying the sight of them running scared." Wolf said.

Leon joined in. "Yeah, it was like shooting fish in a barrel."

Fox grinned. "Sometimes, it's best to just drop some dynamite in the water."

Falco's voice came over the headset, he sounded irritated. "Hey, are you guy's gonna help us clear this perimeter, or are Amanda and I gonna do this by ourselves?!"

"You still got that parakeet flying around with you?" Leon snickered.

"_What_ did you just call me?!" Falco was even angrier now.

Fox intervened before things could escalate. "Alright, let's keep a grip on ourselves. I'm coming over Falco. Wolf, Leon, care to help us out with that perimeter?"

"Help you? Fox, we're gonna show you how it's done." Wolf said as he and Leon took off towards the convoy. Fox shook his head then did the same.

They weren't far off from the convoy's battle cruiser. When they reached it they found that Falco and Lucy had already taken out a large majority of the opposition. Fox also noticed that most of the Cornerian fighters had rallied up and joined the cause. He jumped in and began to chase down the remaining fighters in the area. He spotted Krystal doing the same thing a few hundred feet below him. He desperately wanted to radio to her, say something to strike up a conversation, but what would he say? He had a feeling she had yet to forgive him for what he did to her on Corneria, but he couldn't help himself. He had to do something, he couldn't just fly around pretending she wasn't there. He noticed a Venomian fighter had got on her tail and decided to help her out, see if she would notice him instead. Fox flew towards the Venomian and hammered laser blasts into its vessel until it exploded, then placed himself along side Krystal's fighter. She flew the Cloud Runner, an arwing that Krystal had Slippy design to look like a pterodactyl, a type of dinosaur species. The Cloud Runner was equipped with a twin laser with single lock-on capabilities and one smart bomb.

Krystal noticed the explosion behind her and looked over to see Fox flying by her side. Fox put on a light smile, but a look of hatred and disgust formed on her face and she jerked her fighter away from his and started chasing down a couple Anglers. _Well, there's your answer Fox. _He thought, his heart aching with desolation.

"Alright Fox, perimeter secure. We're ready to push out." Amanda announced. Her voice was full of adrenaline.

Fox pushed his pain away for the moment, realizing he still had a mission to complete. "Okay then, let's send em runnin." He replied as he faced his fighter away from the convoy and towards the ring of chaos that still surrounded all of them. "Slippy, Lucy, is our escape route still clear?"

"Didn't even have to try!" Lucy said, still filled with excitement. Fox could always tell how much she loved this job. _Why couldn't I see that with Krystal? Why did I have to let fear cloud my view of her? Why..._

"Thanks to the extra weaponry R.O.B. and I installed on the Great Fox II!" Slippy cheerfully exclaimed. With that, they all flew straight into different parts of the ring, shattering the enemy force into several small, more manageable groups. Fox's mind was still on Krystal, though this time he made sure to not lose himself so much to thought that he wasn't paying attention. Krystal wasn't much different than Lucy, and yet he had allowed Lucy to remain on the team. It wasn't because he didn't feel responsibility for Lucy. Being that she was Peppy's daughter, Fox had only felt all the more responsible for her. He had just decided it was best to let her make her own choices in what she wanted to do with her life. _Why couldn't I have made that same choice with Krystal? Did my love for her harden me so much that I wouldn't let her choose for herself? Well, you got what you deserve Fox. Because there she is. Flying with Star Wolf in the same amount of, if not more danger than she was in before. Not only did you lose her to that, but you also lost her to...Panther! _It was then that it hit Fox._ Where is Panther?! _He did a quick glance all around the area but couldn't find him. _He's probably on the other side of the convoy. _

Both teams kept pushing through, dodging scrap and bullets, then returning fire and taking down their adversaries. Falco had target lock on an Angler and was about to shoot, when Leon swooped in and shot it down before Falco could pull the trigger.

"Hey!" Falco exclaimed, "Just what do ya think you were doin?! That was my kill!"

"The early bird gets the worm, looks like you're going hungry." Leon replied with a smirk.

"You calling me slow?! You're a freakin Chameleon!"

"Aw yes, but we move quietly and unseen, and we have a fast tongue to take down our prey. In my case, a blaster does just as good." Leon had a taunting calmness in his voice, riling Falco up even more."

"Why you little piece of dried out..."

"Careful with your temper bird. I may have been paid to help out the Star Fox team and not cause them trouble, but I am more than willing to defend myself if necessary. It doesn't take much to convince me that something is...necessary." Leon's voice had turned sinister, and Fox could tell Falco was about to unleash all hell on the lizard. Fox turned his Arwing around and darted in front of Falco just in time to cut him off from taking a shot at Leon.

"I've had enough of this!" Fox yelled into his headset. "We're here to save lives, not put them in more turmoil by fighting amongst ourselves. Now pull yourselves together, and let's finish this!" Falco and Leon both fell silent and continued the mission.

They all continued to fight until they finally had thinned out the attackers enough that they began to retreat. Aparoids, Anglers, and Venomians alike all turned and high tailed it back to the planet they had mysteriously came from; with Star Fox, Star Wolf, and the Cornerians right on their tail. They chased them until they deemed it unsafe to get any closer to the planet, then turned around and headed back to the convoy. Finally all was quiet, and the chaos was over. The Cornerians gathered around the convoy's main battle cruiser and began landing all the damaged fighters in its hangers for repair while the rest took up their spots around the cruiser to provide security on the way back to Corneria.

Fox contacted the cruiser to make sure everything was alright. A young dog answered the transmission.

"Yes sir, we're fine. Can't say it would've been the same if you hadn't showed up though."

"We're happy to help." Fox replied with a smile. "You guys have a safe trip back to Corneria, you hear?"

"Roger that sir. I just have one question before I go."

"Go ahead"

"I thought Venom was done for, that all life on that planet was finished. Sure they would always send us out for security measures, but all the previous times we came up with nothing. Radar, Thermal, Imagery, all quiet. Sir, where in Lylat's name did they come from?"

"I don't know..." Fox said in a grave tone. "But I'm sure once Corneria's government processes all this, they will take major steps to find out."

"I hope this doesn't turn out to be something big. I was quite enjoying our years of peace."

"So was I soldier, so was I. Now get back to Corneria, it shouldn't be long until your actual reinforcements show up to take over."

"Actually sir, my scanners are showing they're still ten minutes out. They said that they ran into another group of the same enemies that were waiting for them near one of the planets they had to pass by to get here. The force was much smaller, they said it was more like a distraction. Something to slow them down and keep them from getting to us in time. Makes me even more thankful that you all arrived when you did."

Now Fox was convinced there was something more to this than a mere suicidal attack. This was planned out, someone had thought this through. But why? All they would have been able to do was take out one convoy, how could that have helped their cause? All it would do is draw more forces to planet Venom. Forces that would do continual research and exploit any events that were covertly going on under the planet's foggy surface. Fox shuddered as he remembered his thought of a larger army still hiding on the surface, ready to attack at any time. Was this the opening act to something bigger?

Fox brushed away the thought. "Either way, you guys have taken enough damage. Get back to Corneria, we'll stay here until they show up. Wolf, would you and your team mind keeping us company a little longer?"

"Sorry Fox, but we did what we got paid to do. No more, no less. Star Wolf is clearing out."

"I figured as much. Well, until we meet again."

"Pray that we don't, because next time we most likely won't be under friendly terms."

Fox spotted Krystal's fighter flying off into the vastness of space, most likely headed towards wherever Star Wolf planned to rally up. _I dread the day that happens... _

Wolf spoke again, this time with an ominous tone. "Now before I go, Fox, I promised someone that I would let him talk to you, pilot to pilot. Which means your team won't be interfering."

"Fox, look out!" Lucy yelled into her head set. Fox looked down at his scanners to see an incoming electric blast headed straight for him from below. He instantly rolled his fighter to the left dodging the blast and the fighter that followed it. Fox recognized it's design. It was a triangular fighter with reverse-delta wings and a rear-centered vertical stabilizer. The fighter was only equipped with a smart bomb and a zapper: a slow but powerful electric beam that could vaporize any aircraft. It was when Fox saw the red rose painted on the right side of the fighter's cockpit that his deduction was confirmed. It was Panther's fighter, with none other than Panther Caroso behind the wheel.

"Hello McCloud," Panther began with his soft, yet sinister growl. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to have this little meeting with you."

"What's the meaning of this Panther?!" Fox exclaimed, "What did I ever do to ruffle your fur?!"

"Oh, it's not my fur you ruffled, you've merely upset my rose. And you know that all my enemies who upset my rose, let alone _see_ her, meet death." Panther swooped around and took another shot at Fox, who bolted forward, clearing the way of the blast.

"This is ridiculous! Wolf, call your boy off!"

"Sorry Fox. We came and did what we were paid to do. Now all bets are off. You'll just have to talk it over, _pilot_ to _pilot_."

Fox gritted his teeth in frustration as he kept his arwing in motion in order to avoid getting disintegrated. He knew it was a bad idea to call in the Star Wolf team to help. "You're only bringing a storm down upon your head Wolf! The Cornerian reinforcements are on their way, and whether or not you've fulfilled your 'contract', they aren't going to take kindly to you attacking one of their allies."

"According to the dog you spoke with on the Cornerian cruiser, Panther has ten minutes to have it out with you. And from what I've seen of him when he works, that's plenty of time."

Falco began to dart towards the Black Rose. "Here's problem number two with your plan Wolf, Star Fox isn't just going to stand by while you allow Panther to attack our leader." Leon interrupted Falco's flight path with a heavily charged laser blast.

"Oh contraire, you feathered rodent. That's _exactly_ what you're going to do."

That was enough to set Falco off again. "Alright you cold blooded dust eater! Let's see how well you use your 'tongue' when a falcon is hunting you down!" He whipped around and began to chase Leon, but before he could fire, the Rainbow Delta vanished before his eyes. "What the? Where the hell did you go?!"

"There's one more thing that makes me all the more superior to you, bird. Not only are we chameleons stealthy movers, but we also have the ability to blend with our surroundings. In my case, a cloaking device. You will also notice I have vanished from your radar, making me completely invisible to both you and your fighter. You are not the hunter anymore, falcon. I am."

Lucy, Amanda, and Toad watched in shock as Panther came out of nowhere and attacked Fox, and Falco chased Leon off in the distance.

Lucy broke the silence. "We need to help them."

"Then let's get in there! We're not doing any good sitting here with our jaws open!" Slippy said.

"You said it sugar!" Amanda added. The three pilots began to head toward the skirmishes, but went right back to a halt when Wolf zoomed in and placed himself in their path.

"I don't think so. You see, I told Fox he would have to talk it out just him and Panther, and I meant it."

"Go chase your tail Wolf." Lucy replied, "It's all you're good for if you think that you can keep all three of us from aiding our friends."

"You're right, I do seem a little out numbered don't I?" Wolf instantly rotated his fighter towards Slippy's and hammered laser blasts into his right wing, bursting through the shield and tearing the wing to shreds. Slippy shrieked as he fought to maintain control of his arwing, now that it's balance was in turmoil. "There, now I only have two pilots to deal with."

"Slippy!" Amanda exclaimed. She looked back at Wolf, staring him dead in the eyes. "You're going to wish you had never even got in our way!"

"Control your temper woman, and head my warning. I only damaged Slippy's fighter enough to keep him from interfering. He can still make it back to your cargo ship. As for you and your girl friend, here's what I would suggest. If you look over to your left, you will see that Falco has lost sight of Leon. This is due to a cloaking device that he had installed on his wolfen. Any second now he will reappear and blow that bird to bits. Now Fox is your leader who is in a completely fair firefight with Panther. You also know Fox to have a much better judgment than Falco, most of the time. I would strongly advise you choose to help the one who is truly in need, instead of your leader who can hold his own."

Amanda and Lucy looked at each other, then Amanda looked back over at Slippy. "Can you make it back hun?"

"Don't worry about me babe, you just help out the others. I'll be fine."

"Be safe."

"Time's ticking." Wolf said with a bone chilling grin. "There's Leon now."

Lucy and Amanda watched as the Rainbow Delta began to reappear right behind Falco's fighter. The two girls looked at each other.

This time Amanda broke the silence. "Alright, lets go save us some falcon tail feathers."

Fox maneuvered through the leftover scrap from the battle he had just come out of, dodging blasts from the fighter above him in a battle he just entered into. "Funny thing about the little rose painting on your wolfen, Panther. I've seen it many times, yet here I am still flying."

"I'm afraid you misunderstand the meaning of my phrase, Fox. I no longer refer to the painting on my right. My rose is much more valuable to me. Without her, my life is incomplete. I was truly blessed the day she came into my life." Panther sighed and began to speak in a soft purr as he thought of his 'rose'. "I had never seen anything so beautiful and so majestic as my rose. She was so graceful, talented, and strong hearted." Panthers voice turned back to a growl. "She would never accept defeat, she would always fight for what she wanted. Do you know what that was Fox?"

Fox knew very well what it was, as well as who Panther considered his 'rose', and it tormented Fox to hear it.

Panther continued, "It was family. Someone that she could rely on and trust when she was in need. Much like you. She had always hoped that_ you _would be her family. That _you_ could be there for her by understanding what she was going through. But there was one thing stopping you wasn't there? Selfishness."

Fox's pain only increased, and began to fuel his rage.

Panther smiled at Fox's silence. "Yes, selfishness. You were afraid to lose her and in your fear, in order to feel better about yourself, you withheld her one wish from her. You left her all alone, with no strength to fall back on. But worry not Fox, she is safe. For in her moment of darkness, a light shined bright. She was hesitant at first, but she reached out and grasped it. From that moment on, she felt safe again. She had strength to rely on once more. Star Wolf was that light, we are her family now. She depends on us for strength, and she turns to me for comfort. She will never turn to Star Fox again. She will never turn to _you_ again."

Fox had heard everything he could stand. He let out a large cry of anger as he flipped his fighter around and headed straight for Panther, sending a swarm of lasers toward of him. Panther maneuvered through the fusillade and zoomed right over Fox's head. Both fighters flew out a ways before turning to face each other again.

"Your arwing's firepower is impressive," Panther said with an amused growl, "but it will not help you. You know as well as I that a weapon doesn't win the battle, but the one who wields it. Come, let us duel and find out who is the superior aviator. Face my rose's death sentence, McCloud. Can you overcome it?"

Fox tightened his grip on the Arwing II's controls. "We're about to find out!"

Falco frantically searched the area looking for Leon's fighter. "Show yourself you little green coward!"

Leon's voice came over the headset. "This is not cowardice, falcon. This is superiority."

"Why don't you come on out and show me just how 'superior' you are!"

"All in good time, I warned you that we chameleons are slow and steady movers. Patients is key when we are on the hunt. But after a long wait, our chance is upon us, and believe me when I tell you, we take it!"

Amanda's voice burst over the comms. "Watch it Falco, he's right behind you!"

Falco looked in his rear view mirror to see the Rainbow Delta slowly re-appearing behind him, with it's laser charged and ready to fire. He jerked his fighter to the right just in time to avoid the blast.

Leon cursed under his breath, but retained his composure. "Your friends have saved you for the moment falcon, but numbers won't gain you victory." With that his fighter vanished again.

"Thanks for the warning." Falco said to Amanda and Lucy as they flew up and started circling the area.

"Happy to assist, but we still have the issue that we don't know where he is." Lucy said.

"There has to be someway to spot him." Amanda said.

Leon's voice re-appeared. "There are none. Even if you do come up with a way, I can hear everything you're saying over the comm line." he snickered.

Falco smiled. "Well, we'll just have to fix that little problem won't we? Lucy, Amanda, switch to our _private_ comm line." Three pilot's switched to an isolated channel that they had set up for situations such as this. "Can you all read me?"

Amanda and Lucy both acknowledged his question.

"Now that our little eaves dropper can't hear us, I have a plan."

Lucy butted in. "Does that plan involve dodging the smart bomb headed straight for you?!"

Falco looked up to see the small red and white diamond shaped object descending upon him. He slammed down on his controls in an attempt to outrun it, but he didn't clear the blast radius in time. The bomb went off, sending Falco's Sky Claw spiraling into the distance, with Falco blacked out in the cockpit.

Fox and Panther set their thrusters to full throttle and headed straight for each other. Fox commenced shooting away at Panther, who performed the same maneuvers as before to dodge the hellfire. They passed by each other once again, both fighters unscathed.

"That's strike two, Fox. Surely you have more to you than that. Don't let your anger cloud your judgment. That's exactly how you lose the match, McCloud."

"Just give me one more pass and I'll show you how clouded my judgment is!"

Panther smiled. "Come, face my rose's sentence once more."

Fox flipped around and prepared to make another run, but stopped when he heard Krystal's voice come over the comm line. "Panther! Stop this madness right now!" Even when yelling, her voice was angelic.

Both pilots looked over to see Krystal hovering a thousand feet away from where they were having their skirmish. "My rose!" Panther responded, sounding like a youngling caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "You were supposed to fly back to the rally point."

"I was, but after I had flown a good distance with nobody following me, I assumed something was wrong and turned around. Looks like I was right!"

"Forgive me, my rose. Whenever we are together you spin tales of how much pain this fox had caused you, all the suffering you experienced on his behalf. I am merely here to repay him for causing my rose strife."

Fox slowly dropped his gaze to the ground from hearing of Krystal's continued suffering after he left her.

"That never meant I wanted him dead Panther!" Krystal shouted. "I only needed to share my pain in my times of sadness to help my heart heal!" She paused, calming herself before continuing. "Leave him, come with me. You've proven enough to me."

"This isn't about proving anything, my rose. This is about bringing justice to the one who attacked your heart. His sentence has been passed, he must pay for his crimes."

Wolf had been standing by watching the whole scene unravel, and stepped in to clear Krystal of the battlefield. He launched a tow cable at her arwing, which landed and attached to it's rear, and Wolf began to pull her away. Krystal instantly began to fight the Wolfen's pull by flying in the opposite direction.

"Wolf! What are you doing?!" She exclaimed.

"Let the males talk Krystal, this is no place for a lady." Wolf said as he increased the power in his thrusters to counteract the fight Krystal was putting up, with little success.

Panther spoke up. "Don't fight him, my rose. I know you wish no harm upon this fox, but it must be done. One day you will see the light and when you do, you will thank me for my deed."

"Panther no! Please don't do this!" She screamed, continuing to fight Wolf's pull.

"Common Krystal, it's time to go." Wolf said as he reached down and pressed a button on his control panel that sent an EMP wave through the tow cable, powering down her fighter. He then took off with her trailing behind before she could offer further protest.

"Good-bye my rose." Panther muttered softly. He then turned his attention back to Fox McCloud, who looked devastated after hearing all that Krystal and Panther had said. Panther put on a triumphant smile. "Now McCloud, it is time for our final joust. Prepare yourself, for only one of us will emerge victorious."

Fox didn't even glance up at Panther. He already felt defeated. The memory of the night at the bar where he had abandoned Krystal was racing through his head: her trembling, her tears, her collapse to the alley floor. _Maybe Panther's right, maybe it's time I did face my crime._ He looked up at the Black Rose that was hovering a couple thousand feet ahead of him. _Alright Panther, you want me? You can have me. _Fox charged up his thrusters, and took off for the final time. _It's better this way Fox,_ he told himself. _It's better this way... _

Krystal's voice stopped Fox's thoughts dead. "Fox, please don't do this! I don't want you dead! Your team needs you!"

"Krystal..." Fox managed to whisper through the shock of hearing her voice in his head. His vision quickly cleared from the blur of his emotions and focused on a little red and white object coming straight at him. _Smart bomb!_ Before Fox could react, the bomb went off and blasted him back a good distance. Fox felt as if he had just slammed into a brick wall. His head spun as he tried to regain full consciousness and grasp his situation. He was thankful the bomb went off at the distance it did; any closer and he might have been no more. _You're still in this, why?_ Fox asked himself. _What are you fighting for? _He thought of Krystal's words. '_Your team'... _A new determination emerged inside of him._ You can't abandon them, you won't! Not even for your debt to Krystal..._ Fox winced at the thought. After everything he had put her through, tossing his guilt aside was no easy task. When his fighter slowed to a stop he fought his dazed state trying to find Panther, who he spotted heading straight for him from above.

"You have lost McCloud. Now for my rose's sake, you will meet death!"

Fox tried to move his arwing out of the way of his oncoming doom, but it didn't budge. The blast from the bomb had depleted his shields, and knocked the fighter's power out cold. He realized it was over, his luck had finally run out. Fox failed himself, failed the galaxy, and failed his team. He closed his eyes and prepared to meet his fate, when he heard Wolf shout over the comm link.

"Panther, look out! We're headed straight for you!"

Fox looked back up and saw Panther fire an electric blast straight at him, but it never made contact. Another spacecraft had flown between him and the shot, taking the impact. Fox watched in horror as he realized the fighter that saved him was Krystal's!

The carnage didn't stop there, Wolf's fighter was still attached to hers, and as she cleared the way of Panther's flight path, she pulled Wolf right into it, causing Panther to slam into the front end of his wolfen, breaking the tow cable and sending both Panther and Wolf hurtling into the distance.

Krystal's shields had sustained most of the damage from the blast, but her engines had also taken some of the toll. Her arwing drifted lifelessly through space, rotating around to where Fox could see Krystal in the cockpit. The shot had knocked her unconscious, but besides a little bruising she appeared to be intact. Fox let out a sigh of relief, but terror immediately filled him again. In his skirmish with Panther, Fox had failed to take note of one thing. They were only a few thousand feet above Venom's atmosphere, and Krystal was drifting straight towards it!

Falco came out of his dazed state, with a small headache as a souvenir. He heard Amanda's voice over the headset.

"Did you see where the bomb came from?!"

"Tracking and chasing, follow my lead!" Lucy responded. Falco looked towards his last position to see Lucy and Amanda chasing...nothing. They were just zipping around and shooting into empty space. On a normal occasion he would've thought them crazy; but with their current opponent, Falco knew it was Leon they were firing at.

_ They got a lock. _Falco thought to himself, a smile creeping onto is face, "We have you now"_. _He looked down at his controls and began to assess the damage done to his fighter. The shields were gone, the body had received some damage, but nothing seemed to be severely out of order. The Sky Claw would still fly. _Slippy will never let me live down losing my shields though. _He thought with a low grunt. He grabbed the controls and flew back towards the action. On his way over he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked towards the distraction, and what he saw nearly made his heart stop. "Oh hell no." He whispered.

Fox instantly went into action, pushing the Arwing II's thruster lever forward in order to reach Krystal before she got any closer to Venom's atmosphere. When the fighter didn't budge, he remembered that the blast from Panther's smart bomb had powered it down. He desperately searched for the ignition and attempted to start it back up. The fighter chugged a little, but then fell silent. Fox cursed under his breath. "Come on, come on." After repeating the process a few more times he looked back up towards Krystal. She was picking up speed as the distance closed between her and Venom, and gravity began to take affect. Fox looked back at his arwing's ignition and continued his attempts. "Come on, come on!" Out of his peripheral vision, Fox noticed a sudden amount of activity. He looked back up towards the movement and froze. Emerging from the mist covering Venom's surface came another wave of enemy fighters, much larger in number than the previous group, headed straight towards Krystal and him. "No...no... no, no, no, NO!" He hit his ignition one more time, and finally had success as his control panel lit up and the fighter's engines roared to life. Fox turned his arwing towards Krystal's and sent his thrusters to full blast, racing the swarm to get to her. He watched as an incoming Angler fighter aimed it's blasters toward her, but he stopped it's intentions by firing first, blowing the Angler to bits. His shots only gained the attention of three other fighters that converged on his arwing instantly, letting their laser cannon's loose on him. Against his instincts, Fox had to flip around in order to avoid the blasts, leaving Krystal to continue drifting into Venom's atmosphere.

He sped ahead of the group, putting distance between him and them before he flipped around again and headed straight towards them. He looked past all the fighters to see Krystal's Cloud Runner now almost falling into Venom's clutches as gravity took full affect on the fighter and left all weightlessness behind. _Oh no you don't! _Fox increased his arwing's speed and flew right into the storm of enemies, dodging laser's from what felt like every direction. _Why did you have to risk your life to save mine Krystal, WHY?! Panther was right, all I've ever done is cause you pain and suffering. You could've let me be done away with right then and there, never having to worry about me again. Justice would've been done, I would've gotten what I deserved... _

Lucy's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Fox! Do you have a death wish?! Get out of there! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I should already be dead!" He replied.

"What are you talking about?!"

"Panther had me! He was about to take my life when... when she swooped in..."

"Krystal?!"

"Yes! She put herself between Panther and I and took the blast for me! Now she's drifting into Venom's atmosphere and I'm going to lose her any second! I won't let her die for my sake! It's my life that should be gone right now, not her's!"

Fox finally made it through the army of fighters, only to watch Krystal's Cloud Runner disappear into Venom's dense blanket of fog. The planet had taken her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"NO!" Fox cried as he dove in after her without hesitation. The vapors of Venom engulfed his fighter as he began his decent into the heart of the very evil he had combated all his life. The fog took his visual contact with Krystal as well as all other fields of view, yet Fox didn't slow for a second. Instinct had taken over all rational thought. Fear and anger pulsed through his veins and drove him beyond his senses. He had forgotten his team up above, forgotten the second wave of fighters, and forgotten the very nature of the planet he was diving into. Only one thing was set in his mind; Krystal would not die here, not now, and not under the current circumstances. He had taken away her family, her security, her strength, and her happiness. He would not let her die for _him. _

Fox scanned beyond his cockpit windshield, thirsting to spot Krystal, but his eyes met nothing but a vast, dense, murky red haze. He looked down at his radar screen but saw no sign of her arwing ahead of him. Fear began to overrule his anger and drown his mind in a sudden flood of nightmares. He watched Krystal's fighter crash into the ground, disintegrating as would a drop of rain that falls on soil; a fate her flesh shared with the arwing. The spark from the friction of the collision ignited the fuel spilling from its tank, fire flashed, and the explosion followed. Her fur was scorched, her skin was ashes, her bones were shards, and her blood was evaporated; Krystal was no more. Fox began to convulse. The vision was increasing in strength; it seemed all too real. She was erased from existence. He had no physical body to cling to as he wept over her, never felt the last traces of her warmth before it left her, didn't get a final glance at her beautiful face. Her delicate voice would only haunt him in his dreams, never to sing through the universe again. Fox grasped his head, flattening his ears with his palms and pressing into his skull with his fingers, his claws drawing blood that trickled down his face. Fox felt none of it, for the pain of the hellish dream overwhelmed his entire being. Through all of this, one regret tore at him worse than anything comprehensible; three words haunted him during Krystal's life, and never ceased tormenting him after her death. Fox lifted his hands from his head and looked upon them. He saw the blood that covered them, though he knew it not as his own, but as Krystal's. A tear fell from his eye, mixing with the red liquid streaming from his scalp, as it ran down his cheek. "I'm sorry..." He spoke in a ghostly whisper. Fox looked up from his fit of trembling, another tear rolling down his face as he choked out his next three words. "I love you."

A sudden beeping from the Arwing II's control panel drew Fox out of the nightmare and back to his conscious state. He looked at the source of the noise and his face filled with terror as he realized he had five seconds before he flew straight into Venom's surface. His instincts kicked back in as he grabbed his controls and yanked on them with a force he had used only a few times in his life. The fighter pulled up just enough to avoid a nose dive into the rocky terrain, however nothing could be done to escape the bottom of the arwing smashing into the ground and grinding away as it began to slow to friction. Fox shut his eyes and gritted his teeth as he waited for it to end. He felt the fighter ram into something large, for instead of bursting through the obstacle, the Arwing II gave and flipped over into the air and landed belly up, continuing to slide along the surface. Fox was losing consciousness due to being thrown back and forth into the walls of his arwing in the process. He opened his eyes, fighting his blurred vision as he assessed his situation. Fox looked toward the ground and noticed something strange. It wasn't rock he was sliding down anymore, it was pavement. His fighter was sliding down a road.

Before Fox could think any further, his head was thrown into his control panel as the arwing smashed into another large object and came to an abrupt halt. The last thing he saw as his eyes rolled up into his head was the slow and constant flashing of the lights in his control panel, the road he had rocketed down, and large pieces of rubble falling from above and shattering into the ground. Then all went dark.

…...

Lucy and Amanda both slowed their fighters to a halt when their eyes fell upon the incoming armada.

"Oh hell no." They heard Falco say over the comm set. The two girls looked at each other and then back at the swarm. All three Star Fox pilots could find nothing further to say. Finally Falco broke the silence.

"Reinforcements are still five minutes out."

"We're gonna have to fall back to the Great Fox II if we have any hope of surviving this." Amanda stated, switching her comm channel to the frequency of the Great Fox II. "Slippy, you there sugar? Please tell me you made it back alright..."

The high pitched reply brought relief to the trio. "Yeah, by the skin on my bones! But I'm alright. I'm heading up to the bridge now. How are things going?"

Falco butted in, urgency poured from his beaked mouth. "Not hot Slip', turns out Venom wasn't done serving us ugly bastards! We're bookin it back to the Great Fox ourselves and we're gonna need some serious firepower if we hope to survive the next five minutes."

"I'll see what I can do, but with all that we used during the first skirmish it's gonna be tight..."

"It'll have to do... we got no other choice." With that Falco whirled his fighter around and shot out towards the team's mother ship. Amanda left next and Lucy was about to follow, when she suddenly realized something was missing. _Fox!_

She searched every sector of her field of view, checking each vessel coming her way, trying to pick out any familiar characteristics of the Arwing II. She didn't have to look long, for when she saw it, the arwing was flying ahead of the group headed straight towards her. Lucy allowed her tense muscles to relax, but they seized right back up as she watched Fox's arwing turn around and fly straight back into the hoard. She immediately attempted to contact him.

"Fox! Do you have a death wish?! Get out of there! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I should already be dead!" He replied.

Lucy was taken back. She remembered his engagement with Panther. _Had he lost?_ "What are you talking about?!"

"Panther had me!

_Yep._

He was about to take my life when... when she swooped in..."

_She... She... _"Krystal?!"

"Yes! She put herself between Panther and I and took the blast for me! Now she's drifting into Venom's atmosphere and I'm going to lose her any second! I won't let her die for my sake! It's my life that should be gone right now, not her's!"

Lucy didn't even realize that she lost sight of Fox as panic set in. She knew he had to save Krystal, but she also didn't want to see anything happen to him. She had grown so accustomed to having him as a captain. Due to the loss of her mother, Fox was the closest thing to family she had. She was fortunate enough to still have her father, but he was always so occupied with his business as General of the Cornerian Army that he never had time for her. Fox had taken her in and taught her the skills she would need to succeed in this life. He had comforted her in times of grief, protected her in times of danger...

A loud cry from Fox brought her out of her zoned state. "NO!" He exclaimed.

Lucy's heart started racing."Fox? Fox?! Can you hear me?! What's going on?!" No answer, Lucy's heart-rate increased. "Fox! Come in Fox! Do you copy?!" Still silence. _Don't die on me Fox. Please... don't leave me... _

Falco's voice replaced Fox's. "Lucy, you wanna get your pretty cotton tail outta there? You got about fifteen seconds before those fighters are in blasting range of you!"

Lucy cleared her mind and tuned back into her current situation to find truth in Falco's words. She spun her fighter towards the Great Fox II and set her thrusters to full blast in order to have any hope of staying ahead of the coming storm. _Hell Fox, I might just be dying with you..._

…_..._

_ Someone! Help me! _

Fox jolted awake with a short, sharp cry at the sound of Krystal's pleading. There was something strange about her voice. He hadn't heard it externally, he heard it internally; inside his head. Just like before she had saved his life from Panther. Fox had heard her in his head, pleading with him not to deliver himself into Panther's hands. _Her telepathy... _That only meant one thing. _She's still alive! _Fox looked down at his chest where the buckle held the straps together that kept him stationary in the arwing. He pressed the button to release the buckle and instantly dropped from his seat, slamming head first into his cockpit window, the rest of his body crumpling down afterwords. Fox's head ignited with a fierce, throbbing pain as he remembered that his ship had flipped over before coming to a slamming halt into some kind of structure. The next thing he noticed was a sudden wet sensation he felt in the fur on the back of his head, neck, and any other exposed posterior area of his body. Fox let his head roll to one side and felt the moisture creep up his cheek as he laid eye's on the red, liquid pool he was lying in. He lifted his hand and held it above his face, watching the scarlet fluid drip from his finger tips, and feeling each one land on his snout. Fox let out another short lived holler as the agonizing pain rushed through his head again. He recalled his nightmare, how he had driven his claws into his skull_. _He remembered the crash the followed, how he had been tossed around in his seat like a rag doll, his head slamming all over the cockpit. Another bolt of pain rippled through his cranium as he remembered the winning blow, when his ship plowed into whatever it was in its path, and momentum carried his forehead straight into his forward control panel. Fox let his hand and arm fall back into the cool pool of blood. _Blood... this... this is my blood, this is a LOT of my blood. _The impulse to pass out came over him again due to his sudden knowledge of his blood-loss. Dizziness set in and Fox began to feel very light headed. Then he remembered Krystal's cry for help. _No! You can't die here. You... you have... you have to save... save... her... _Fox was slipping from consciousness fast. He focused on Krystal, not knowing what state she was in. All he knew was that she was alive, and he was the only one on Venom who had any chance of reaching her. He opened his previously closing eyes as a fiery passion and determination radiated from his hazel green iris'. _You have to save her!_

Fox rolled onto his side, ignoring the chill caused by his blood that continued to soak his fur and seep through his clothes as he brought himself to his knees. He looked up and around his tightly enclosed prison, giving his eyesight a moment to clear itself of the fog brought about by his movement. Once he could perceive everything as it was, he searched for something he could use to break through the glass dome of his arwing. _My blaster! _Fox looked over at the compartment that every arwing was built with to hold an aviators firearm while in flight; The weapon was still there. He grabbed and yanked it out of the holder, taking a brief moment to inspect it. Fox carried a fully automatic laser rifle. He never considered it anything special, it was the standard issue of every soldier in the Cornerian Army. Few could match its precision and accuracy, although its power wasn't much to beat, and it was built with carbon fiber materials, so it was lightweight and could be quickly and easily maneuvered. However, thanks to Slippy, who also had a knack for weaponry mechanics, some upgrades and extra attachments gave Fox's blaster an edge that placed it above most of its kin.

Upon completion of the short examination, Fox flipped the blaster around in order to use the butt of the weapon to break through the glass trapping him in his fighter. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, summoning as much energy as he could. Arwing protective glass domes were built to withstand blows from miniature asteroids, roughly the size of basketballs, traveling at speeds of up to five thousand mph. The only hope Fox had of smashing through said glass was due to the cracks already placed in the dome from the crash. He aimed at a good sized fracture, grasped his rifle with both hands as tight as his muscles would allow, swung the blaster off to his side, and brought the butt of it right down on the center of the crack with enough force to shatter a concrete brick. No change. He swung again. Nothing, the crack remained its original size. Fox took a deep breath, then began continuously swinging at the glass. He hit it a third time, then a forth.

_ Come on! _His mind begged in desperation.

A fifth, a sixth.

_Please just break!_

Seventh, eighth.

Fox's thoughts met his voice. "Damn window, break!"

Ninth, tenth.

"You piece of shit! Why," eleventh, "won't" twelfth, "you", thirteenth, "just" fourteenth, "break!"

He went for another blow, but fell flat on his back mid-swing, splashing back down into the scarlet pool beneath him. With the pain of his head overwhelming him and his energy depleted, Fox couldn't even summon anything to release a howl of anger. He just lay there, his backside soaking in blood, feeling defeat.

_No!_ He scolded himself, _You aren't giving up! If there is ANY chance Krystal is still out there, you will, not, quit!_ Fox looked around thinking of another way out. He didn't dare try shooting through the glass, lest the blast bounce right back into his face. Since the fighter was upside down, opening the hatch was out of the question. That's when it hit him. _We're just going to have to get this fighter right side up!_ He looked through the glass dome and observed the angle of his fighter. The nose was touching the ground and pointing towards the opening left by the arwing in whatever it was it smashed into. Which meant the engines were aimed towards the inside of the structure, angled towards the ceiling. If the Arwing II had any power left, he could channel it to the boosters, which in turn would propel the ship forward. Hopefully the nose would collide with something solid and strong, or drive into the pavement beyond, creating a friction powerful enough to catch the fighter and cause it to flip over onto its belly. _Then I'll be able to pry this blasted dome open! _

Fox rolled back up onto his knees, placed his rifle back in its compartment, and looked up at the switch that powered his fighter and flipped it to the on position, no response. "Yeah... that's what I thought. Still might have the reserves..." _Though I'll have to route it to the booster engines manually._ He slowly got to his feet, maneuvering his head between the seat and the dash board, obtaining a position where he was looking down at what was normally considered 'underneath the control panel'. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a single bladed pocket knife that his father gave him as a kit. Flipping the blade out, he used it to carefully pry off the metal sheet that hid and protected the wires in the dash. Once the panel was removed, Fox smoothly put the knife back in its pocket of origin. A corner of his mouth curved into a smile. "Thanks dad." He quietly remarked.

Looking into the opening he created, Fox caught sight of a small glowing light bulb that indicated there was still reserve power. "Now we're getting somewhere." He set to work on the wiring, directing power to the engines and saving a fraction of it for the control panel in order to fire up said engines when ready. Fox was no mechanic or electronics engineer, but he always made sure he knew just enough to get himself out of situations such as these should the need ever arise. Back during his training on Corneria, it was a requirement of every pilot. After a minute of work, and a time or two of getting a slight zap from electricity, the power was connected to exactly where Fox wanted it. He replaced the cover to the opening in the dash and dropped back down to his knees. _Time for a little calisthenics. _He thought with a smirk. Facing the opposite direction of the seat, he reached up and got a firm grip on the armrests. Then he pulled himself up with his arms, simultaneously using the rest of his upper body to roll up into the natural position of one sitting in a cockpit. Fox was upside down at this point, and by tucking his legs underneath his seat he was able to hang in place while he strapped himself in tight. He could feel the blood rushing to his head. _Better do this quick. _

Fox turned on his control panel and brought his engines roaring to life. He then tucked his chin into his chest and held it there by wrapping an arm over his head. _No injuries this time._ His free arm and hand reached over to the thruster lever and grasped it firmly. _And in three, two, one._ Fox sent the lever to its forward position. The boosters sent fire spitting from their pipes, and the fighter gradually began to edge forward before blasting off at a remarkable speed. The nose instantly barreled through one side of the structure's opening and pierced into what Fox recognized to be a hover-car. The vehicle didn't budge and gave the resistance he was looking for. The arwing halted for a split second before the rear half of the jet shot skyward, and the entire thing fell over onto its stomach. Fox had kept one hand on the thruster and immediately pulled it back the moment his arwing was right side up. The engines slowly died, and all was quiet. Fox breathed a sigh of relief, then began to chuckle like a merry mad genius. "It worked." He said, pausing from his chuckling but starting right back up after his statement was finished. He placed his hands on his head and slid them down his face, feeling the still-damp blood that had soaked nearly all his fur and clothing. He paused his chuckling again. "I can't believe it worked!" He looked up and took in his surroundings, the air of his mood quickly became serious and edgy. The mist wasn't as thick on Venom's surface, and it revealed the complete view of what happened on the planet. For a time, Venom had flourished with cities larger than those on Corneria. Fox had landed in the outskirts of one of them, or at least, what was left. Not a living soul could be seen. The only thing that filled Fox's eyes was the sight of buildings that were demolished or badly damaged, hover-cars and trucks that would never run again, streets that were full of cracks, fissures, and piles of rubble, skeletons of trees and bushes that once burst with life, and a gloomy red hue that suffocated it all.

Suddenly it came again. The angelic, yet terrified voice of the one who was down here with him, ringing through his head. _Someone... Fox... please... help me..._

Her words were weak and filled with terror. All thoughts occupying Fox's conscience died out, and his main mission took over. _I'm coming Krystal. Don't worry, I'm coming!_ He thought as strong as he could, hoping she could read his message. He knew she was hurt and didn't have much time left; if it wasn't too late already... Either way, he wouldn't waste another second sitting in his cockpit.

He retrieved his blaster from its compartment and unbuckled himself from his seat. _Venom's air probably isn't the safest to breath with its nuclear history. Better grab a mask. _He knew it wasn't the safest to walk through either, but with Krystal's life on the line, it was a risk he was willing to take. He reached over to a side compartment, and pulled out a small, black, cone-like shaped mask that was designed to fit snug over the snout, allowing the wearer to breath filtered oxygen. Strapping it on, he looked at the button to release the lock that held the glass dome down to the metal frame of the cockpit. Fox sent up a quick prayer before pressing it. He heard the sound of a loud click, and the dome was released from its holster. _Thank Lylat!_ He placed his free hand on the glass and pressed upwards, flipping it over and allowing himself to climb out of the Arwing II unhindered. The moment he stood fully encompassed in Venom's atmosphere was when he met, for the first time, the humid heat that the planet contained. It was worse that any desert Fox had visited, or lived in for that matter on his home planet, Papetoon. The heat seemed to vacuum the energy from his very body, while the moisture clung to his fur and clothes till he was nearly soaked, further dampening the blood that also clung to him, creating a sticky feeling all over his being.

He jumped off the arwing and landed softly on the ground. An overwhelming chill ran through his entire body. Fox had been on Venom before, but never had he actually come in contact with the planet. He had always flown a few hundred feet above it at least. Now here he was, on its very surface, roaming it's very grounds. He could feel a malicious aura about the place. An eerie evil that haunted its grounds, and Krystal was here. _Please Krystal, PLEASE be alright..._ He began to feel fear growing inside him again as he thought of the terrible things that could've happen to her. _What if something found her? It could be causing her to suffer right now, and I'm not there to stop it!_ Fox's knees began to shake and he fell to the ground. He could hear her cries of pain, cries filled with misery and sorrow. They grew louder and louder until Fox couldn't take anymore. He wailed in agony and begged for it to stop, begged for her tormenter to stop hurting her. It was then that he felt a hand placed upon his arm. The screaming ceased and not a further sound was heard. Fox looked up slowly and his heart stopped at what he saw. He was looking into the eyes of his father.


End file.
